The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has raised the alarm about a campaign of violence that is allegedly being unleashed on its members in the state. The publication was written by Francis Ezediuno and was published on February 11, 2023.
Additionally, the party claimed that the state's All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter was responsible for the violence against state residents.
The caretaker chairman of the party in the state, Akindele Adekunle, disclosed in a statement that he had signed that the party had to raise the alarm due to the most recent attack on Wasiu Adeleke, a PDP member in the Ila local government, on Saturday afternoon.
“The assailants, who are sponsored by Obawale Adewale, the APC House of Representatives candidate for Ila/Boluwaduro/Ifedayo, and Lateef Adebisi Jayeola, the APC candidate for Ila State Constituency, swooped on armless member at the dead of night, inflicting on him serious injuries,” reads the statement.
“Like the attacks that came before it, this one was part of a deliberate plan to intimidate and frighten our members and supporters before the general election. The APC wants to use violence to prevent voters from going to the polls and exercising their franchise because they are worried about the determination of the Osun people.
“Such is the level of desperation displayed by the APC, whose track record of mismanagement has resulted in an enormous lack of interest and unmasked disapproval from Nigerians. However, we must warn that the Osun people's tolerance for this barbarism is limited, and we will resist any attempt to intimidate them.
In addition, the party urged the police and other state security agencies to fulfill their obligations to ensure the safety of its members and the Osun people as a whole.
“It is anticipated that security agencies will have risen to their responsibility and pursue the criminals imported into the state by the APC by now and with all the warmings by our great party.
“People will be forced to defend themselves from these mindless attacks if the security agencies fail to track and apprehend criminals who are terrorizing Osun people, particularly PDP members, in the guise of an election. The state's security agencies should control APC thugs because this is not something anyone wants.
In addition, the party urged residents to remain alert and alive for the safety of their immediate neighborhood.
Kola Olabisi, the Director of Media and Information for the Osun APC, responded by saying that the Osun PDP judges other people according to their own standards.
Olabisi said that while Obawale Adewale was a gentleman, the people who made the claim that the former state commissioner had sponsored violence were doing so for other reasons.
"That one political thug from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) known as Sarafa Awotunde, also known as " Spain's boasting and confession of the series of attacks against APC members in the Ikirun area of Osun State is an illustration of the PDP and the ousted governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, that they have been sponsoring the attacks.
“Our party has been accusing Adeleke/PDP of being behind the violent activities that have been the usual occurrences in Osun State since the inauguration of the embattled Governor Adeleke as the state governor. The confession and threat of attacks on the APC members is a vindication of our party.
“Our members have been accused of attacking others in Ede, Ifetedo, Ile-Ife, Osogbo, Ilesa, Ila-Orangun, Ikire, and Apomu, among other state towns and villages. The most appalling and bizarre thing is that the state police commissioner has been oblivious while our members are being killed without cause and attacked without justification.
Olabisi claimed that the Osun State Commissioner of Police has not, through his actions, proved to discerning minds that he has not been working in cahoots with the PDP/Adeleke to oppress, suppress, and subjugate the APC members. He noted that in saner societies, political thugs would have been invited, arrested, investigated, and prosecuted.
He went on to say that everything was done to harm the APC and benefit the PDP at the expense of the ruling government.
In the meantime, the Osun Police Command spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, stated that the Police were aware of the threat and were conducting an investigation into it in relation to the allegations made against Sarafa Awotunde, a PDP chieftain in Ikirun.
In addition, Oluwole Oke, a member of Congress who represents the Ijesa North (Obokun/Oriade) Federal Constituency, had raised concerns about an attack on his supporters in Osogbo.
According to Oke, the Osun APC sympathizers attacked and injured the supporters, who had come to his house in Osogbo to pay him a visit and were mostly Northerners.
